


Malevolent Melodies

by DarkestDarkness



Category: Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy, Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: Angst, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-09-19 16:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9449957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkestDarkness/pseuds/DarkestDarkness
Summary: Drabble and Song Challenge for the Warriors of Chaos.





	1. Depature // Garland

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome fellow friends of the morally ambiguous. This is an old collection formerly uploaded on another website. I did a small work-over on some of the contents and will upload everything between my studies, which keep me rather busy at the moment (at this point I would like to apologize, I appreciate every kudos on my other works). The original series covered 3 sets of completed entries, and an unfinished fourth, all with a word limit that I will kindly ignore at this point. Enjoy your stay ♥

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **Artist: Apocalyptica feat. Nina Hagen  
>  Title: Seemann**
> 
> _"Am Ende bleib ich doch alleine  
>  Die Zeit steht still  
> Und mir ist kalt...."  
> (Still, in the end I am alone  
> Time is standing still  
> and I am cold....)_   
> 

He had contemplated to end you that moment. Though neither out of spite, nor hatred. 

No one would ever see Garland admitting it freely, but he was afraid of what was to happen to you when time drew closer to its end and the final curtain fell. Garland, the almighty warrior, afraid. His fellow comrades in arms would've laughed at him. And perhaps in a past life-time, he would have laughed it off himself. _Ridiculous._

Yet, as he saw you waiting for him, sitting on one of the crumbling columns within the walls of Chaos's shrine, he found himself unable to follow the bellowing voice inside his mind to put an end to it now rather than fall pray to ever growing fear. And without asking for his consent, his hand loosened the grip on his sword. He couldn't. He realized it the moment your eyes locked with his. 

“I'll be leaving shortly,” he spoke lowly, his voice betraying nothing. And yet the graveness and heavy weight accompanying his words did not pass you unnoticed; The implication that this may be the last meeting in a long time not lost on you. The war raged on, an unpleasant truth your heart still refused to accept.

“Leaving? For how long?”  
“Only the gods know.” 

“I see....”  
With the genuine sadness in your eyes as you cast down your glance to the cracked flagstones beneath your feet came a pull at his insides, a cut more precise than any sword could have procured.

“We will meet again.” 

Garland would be sure to remember the many smiles you two had shared over the course of time as he turned to leave, aware that he didn't deserve a single one of it. He hadn't been strong enough to tell the truth, so he didn't deserve your honest smiles either....


	2. Despair // Emperor Mateus, Firion (Implied)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **Artist: Nightwish**   
>  **Title: Bless The Child**   
>    
>  _"Think of me long enough to make a memory.“_   
> 

He saw it in your face, easily read it off the rising eyebrows and the parting of your lips as your wide-eyed gaze swept over his frame: following the blond hair cascading down proud shoulders, to the firm hold on the scepter in his hands, and along his slender legs. Not a detail was left before he caught your gaze in his once again. 

You had always been an open book to him, passages easily read and interpreted. 

“I-I thought you were gone.”

A hoarse whisper, voice broken and unsure, and his lips almost curved into a mocking smile. Even after all this time, he found this _endearing_ quality in you unchanged.... Much unlike the newly surfaced distance he found boiling beneath your surface. 

“There is no end to me,” he spoke lowly, each careful step forward calculated.

Not once had there been a doubt to his absolute reign in memories past, neither in his words nor in your eyes. And yet.... The shiver taking hold of you didn't go unnoticed as he approached you.

Mateus narrowed his eyes, fingers taking hold of your chin and tilting it up towards him. 

Forget him, that's what did. Just like the insolent rebel brat had whispered into your ears when he had taken you into his arms, acting as if he actually cared. 

Poisonous words from a venomous mind - it was an outcome entirely unacceptable.

He would rewrite the story, take it upon himself to etch the letters into the pages of your consciousness, using only the deepest of reds. From now on and for eternity, there wouldn't be a single moment in your life without him on your mind. 

After all, Mateus was the lord commander of hell, and if it meant you would come crawling back to him, he would make sure to turn your life into the most scorching of all.


	3. Distant // Cloud of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **Artist: Within Temptation  
>  Title: What Have You Done Now**
> 
> _"Would you mind if I killed you?  
>  Would you mind if I tried to?"_   
> 

How long she had been part of this world, she couldn't remember anymore, but she still recalled the days past where all was nothing, and life was death - joined in the endless embrace of the void, long before they were torn from each other's grasp. Kingdoms rose and nations fell before her as she had watched on, more often than not but by the hands of a single person – a single human being, turning the tides of fate with a firm holds on its threads - before, at long last, they too, would join death on its journey.

Truly, humanity fascinated her. All living things did. 

As a consequence, she initially found herself intrigued with the thought of participating in a game of gods so much alike the wars she had witnessed. Yet all too soon, like so many things before, the endless cycles mortal existence revolved around had found their dragging rhythm once again. And what spark had ignited her curiosity had faded once again. 

And then.... she had found you. Another puppet summoned to oppose the dark-winged demon's forces, another poor soul trapped in this deadly dance. 

One of many, and yet, one of few. 

She found herself unable to look away from the sparkle in your eyes whenever you smiled, the wrinkle of your forehead when you looked at her in confusion, the drop of your shoulders when disappointment struck you hard, and the quivering of your lips as tears ran down your reddened cheeks and a scream tore from your throat.

Life had little significance to that which lasts eternally, she was no exception, but you.... Your shaking legs hit the cold stone with no regards to self-preservation, fingernails cracking forcefully against the ground. The limp body of yet another of Cosmos' playthings littered across the floor before you. 

You _felt_ , where she could only look on. So she had watched you from afar as shock had turned into despair, and despair into wrath as your fragile fists had collided with unforgiving stone over and over again, until your body had been too weak to carry on and you had fallen into a restless slumber beside your fallen comrade. 

Only after crippling silence had swallowed the scene entirely she walked up to you and took you in her arms, fingers combing though your hair as she held you close. 

She loved every single one of your myriad of expressions, and she loved how all the little things she did summoned them upon your face. But she found she loved your smile the most. 

And so the foreign ache in her chest dictated she would never tell you it had been her doing all along....


	4. Disaster // Golbez

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Artist: Casey Lee Williams**  
>  Title: Boop  
>     
>  _"I think... oh, well, what am I to do?_  
>  _I didn't know that I would fall in love with you!_  
>  _And what to do right now?_  
>  _I haven't got a clue"_

“Is there something the matter?” Golbez' calm voice broke the silence, and in but a fragment of a moment your unfocused state of mind shattered, your serene smile melting into a flat line of absolute mortification.

You had been staring.

Blinking once, twice, you barely suppressed an upcoming eye twitch and tried your best to keep your poker face from falling apart even further.

You bloody fool had been _staring at him_. _Again._

It had become an awful habit as of lately, yet despite your attempts to get it under control you failed miserably more often than not. And now he had noticed, caught you red handed. Things had been a lot easier before the realization about the extent of your own feelings towards your friend and comrade had run you over like a steam roller.

The days before you had noticed how all colors seemed brighter and more lively with him, how the whispers of the wind appeared more gentle in his soothing presence and-- he _was still_ waiting for a response, judging the tilt of his head and heavy silence between you.

It had been an innocent enough inquiry. One you were taking suspiciously long to answer.

“I--”

… _.want to kiss you._

Oh no, you were _so_ not going there. You didn't even know if he felt the same. Starting again, you procured something more akin to a croak than a proper sentence. This was going well.

_I really want to hold you._

Why didn't you just say no in the first place? A simple answer for a simple question.

“Yes?” he spoke again. If he had noticed anything off about your behavior, he didn't let it show, ever the gentleman.

_I love you._

Red spread across your face at your own traitorous thoughts and at this point you were _absolutely_ positive he knew something was very, _very off_. And _still_ , in this hour of need eloquence and any form of excuse which could get you out of this had decided to completely elude you.

Couldn't even trust your own thoughts to have your back. Unlike him, who had always stood by your side and--oh my god, you were _staring again_.

“ _I'mgoingtogeticecreamwouldyoulikesometoo?_ ”

Had it been any other time or person, you would have been impressed at how quickly and efficiently you had blurted out all these words and compressed a full sentence into a single high pitched whine. Though, perhaps even then the finger guns accompanying your attempt at conversation would've seemed a tad excessive.

And did they even have ice cream in this realm?

Only the deep sound of a soft chuckle broke you out of yet another mental scolding.

You weren't certain if the burning of your cheeks worsened from reaching a new peak of embarrassment, or the sweet acceptance of your quirks that danced along the ups and downs of this melodic sound.

Either way, you had made him laugh. That had to count for something, right?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally Golbez had another song for him, but in an attempt to rewrite it for this collection, it blew completely out of proportions, so it's now resting as a seperate thing I may or may not finish. Instead I asked my little shit of a friend to give me any song to work with, and she insisted we take a break from the angst with something happy for dear Golbez.


	5. Demise // Exdeath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **Artist: Subway To Sally**   
>  **Title: Wenn Engel Hassen**   
>    
>  _“Seine Hand gab sieben Menschen einen schnellen Tod_   
>  _Bis ihn selber eine Kugel niederwarf_   
>  _Wer ihn kannte sagte, dass es seltsam war_   
>  _Denn glücklicher hat man ihn nie geseh'n”_   
>  _ (By his hand, seven people found a swift demise _   
>  _ Until he was struck down by a bullet _   
>  _ Those who knew him said it was strange _   
>  _ For they had never seen him happier) _   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning in advance: The suicidal thoughts warning in the tags applies to this chapter, as well as Body Horror because it involves Neo Exdeath further down.

It had all happened far too quickly. 

But a moment ago Exdeath had been fighting on his own as you had been resting against a stone, unable to carry on and assist your partner. He had been doing a formidable job at keeping the enemy off your backs, parrying the majority of spells and arrows shot at him, while launching attacks of his own. 

Too late had you realize something was off, your startled call to watch out reaching him only after his own magic had began lashing out at him. 

The former tranquility of the Void had been broken, its essence quivering and shaking. 

And now, within the glimps of a moment, you saw the tall warlock flung to his knees, saw his fingers digging deep into the dirt, nails bending and breaking beneath the strain, desperately trying to keep himself rooted to the ground. 

The Void's pull was unyielding, merciless – its thirst unquenchable. The weapon wielded with such grace only moments ago had grown a mind of its own and now sought to devour the fool who had claimed mastery over it. 

Exdeath was shaking with effort, struggling in what appeared more and more to be a futile attempt to escape as the voids dark tendrils reached for him, wrapping around his legs and neck. The sight sent your heart into frantic tembles, which, together with the sounds of his labored gasps and struggles, fused into a haunting cacophony. 

It must have dawned upon him as well. That this was the end. 

With his last strength he raised his arm, his knees giving in to the pull of the void and his massive form slamming into the ground. One last spell, one last impact upon the world. 

The intended target was flung from their spot and to his side instantly, now within the reach of the hungering void. 

Not an enemy, but you.  
_You didn't understand_. 

The pain of sudden betrayal pierced your heart even as his arms embraced you one last time and the whole world turned black, turned nothing. 

And then.... 

Had you once believed to understand the spirit of wrath after all the time you had spent together, only now did you truly grasp the dept of his thoughts; the nature of his being. There was no more need to hold on to him, and still you were, your hands so small compared to what had become of him – _of you_. 

You were of one mind with him – rejoined where all was nothing, and nothing was everything.  
You were of one body – together as one, save within the Void's embrace.  
_For eternity._

With this realization came _happiness_. His complete acceptance of you into his being joined with your love for all of him, melting into one warm sensation spreading through all of you until you were unable to discern where one conciousness began and the other ended. 

But with the understanding also came _sadness_. A vile, merciless, unquenchable misery. Emptiness. 

You were unsure if it came as surpise when your adversaries eventually found you, or how long it had taken them. Hours, days, years, even decades held no meaning inside the Void's womb – _nothing_ did but _him_. 

The confrontation had anticipation clash with fear, acceptance with defiance, and you were torn between what were the remnants of his mind and what had once been yours. The yearning to die. The wish to live. The longing to find a place to rest after all this time. The desire to endlessly drift inside the rift between the worlds. 

The battle raged on – for how long you couldn't say, but what did it matter? – until _finally_ the blacks and whites started fading to gray, and the emptiness blended into a winter's last cold embrace between the trails of burning fire painted by sharp steel. 

Where you should have felt fear, instead there was joy. _Relief_. 

And yet....  
You buried your face in what you recognized as part of him in this amalgamation of what you had become, hands holding on to him and refusing to let go what was already one and could not be torn apart. Your pained sob sounded as distant echo from his throat as the the broken promise of an eternity together fell apart before you....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A difficult chapter to write. I tried to look into what Exdeath becomes when his power turns on him and he fuses with residents of the Void, as well as his self-destructive nihilism. "I am Neo Exdeath. All memories...dimensions....existence... All that is shall be returned to nothing. Then I, too, can disappear. Forever." 
> 
> It all turned very dark and a bit obscure. Regardless, I hope I managed to convey my thoughts of his attempt to hold on to the one thing he held dear within the "don't explode your chapters" limit I put after Golbez did just that - explode my chapter. 
> 
> I just want to see my tree happy, why did it have to be this song....? ｡ﾟヽ(ﾟ´Д｀)ﾉﾟ｡


End file.
